» About/Submit     » Archive     » Authors     » Search     » Random     » Statistics     » Forum     » RSS Feed     Updates Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

No. 477: Turn in your proofs on the forum

First | Previous | 2021-01-28 | Next | Latest

Turn in your proofs on the forum

First | Previous | 2021-01-28 | Next | Latest

Permanent URL: https://mezzacotta.net/itoons/?comic=477

Strip by: Conor

{Scene: A bar, presumably a university faculty lounge.}
Math professor 1: I'm just... having trouble coming up with my opening math lecture theme because -
Math professor 2: You know what I do?
Math professor 2: I start with an unsolved problem that is easily stated, and I challenge everyone to turn in a solution by the end of the semester.
Math professor 1: That's perfect!
{Cut to: a university lecture hall where Math Professor 1 is teaching.}
Lecture slides: HOMEWORK
Lecture slides: Prove that the real part of every non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is equal to 1/2
Lecture slides: Due Wednesday
Lecture slides: 10% of course grade

The author writes:

Riemann hypothesis.

Later, back at the faculty lounge: "...and when I got to the part about how the non-trivial zeros of the zeta function are symmetrically distributed about the line s = 1/2 + it, and all of its non-trivial zeros must lie in the range 0 ≤ Re(s) ≤ 1, then I remembered where I left my bicycle!"

Original Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal: "Unsolvable".